Dry pasta is the most generally distributed and consumed pasta. Dry pasta is manufactured by forming dough into desired shapes such as noodle strands, and then drying them. Pasta obtained by cooking dry pasta is a favorable food having a hard and elastic texture.
In contrast, fresh pasta is pasta which is manufactured without going through a drying step. Fresh pasta is a different food from dry pasta in terms of manufacturing steps as well as product appearance. Pasta obtained by cooking fresh pasta is a favorable food having the pleasant taste and aroma of wheat. Meanwhile, because pasta obtained by cooking fresh pasta is softer than pasta obtained by cooking dry pasta, it is not necessarily a satisfactory food for consumers who prefer a harder texture.
Further, because fresh pasta has poor storage stability due to a high water content, it has a problem that it cannot be cooked in advance of serving. Fresh pasta in a chilled or frozen state is commercially available. However, it is difficult to maintain a favorable appearance and texture of freshly produced fresh pasta because chilled- or frozen-stored fresh pasta is prone to quality deterioration during storage. Further, when pasta cooked from fresh pasta is chilled- or frozen-stored with sauce on top, quality is deteriorated. Namely, for example, the sauce penetrates into the pasta during storage, resulting in an exceedingly soft texture.
Wheat is a plant belonging to the genus Triticum of the family Poaceae. The genus Triticum includes diploids, tetraploids and hexaploids, each respectively having, in somatic cells, two, four or six genomes, each genome being composed of seven chromosomes. Among them, hexaploids are referred to as “hexaploid wheat group”, which is most abundantly cultivated. Hexaploid wheat group include bread wheat (also referred to as “common wheat”) (T. aestivum or T. vulgare), club wheat (T. compactum), spelt wheat (T. spelta) and the like. Meanwhile, “durum wheat” (also referred to as “macaroni wheat”) (T. durum) is a tetraploid, and is genetically different from hexaploid wheat group in that the durum wheat has a fewer number of chromosomes. Further, in comparison with hexaploid wheat group, durum wheat has a higher protein content, contains gluten having different properties, and is harder. Unlike hexaploid wheat group, it is difficult to mill durum wheat due to its hardness. Normally, durum wheat is grinded and seized in such a way as not to destroy starch and protein tissues, and then collected as “semolina” (coarse grains of wheat endosperm) in the specially designed milling steps.
In the field of manufacture of pasta including fresh pasta, the aforementioned semolina of durum wheat is generally used as a main raw material. Dough manufactured from durum semolina is hard, and therefore is suitable for extrusion, which is a general manufacturing method of pasta. Further, durum semolina produces an elastic texture, and thus is particularly favorably used for the manufacture of pasta expected to have an elastic texture, such as spaghetti and macaroni. However, owing to a smaller global supply of durum wheat compared to hexaploid wheat group, there is a problem that durum wheat is prone to price hikes.
Meanwhile, a method for manufacturing fresh pasta using wheat flour other than durum wheat is known. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a method for manufacturing fresh noodles, comprising extruding a mixture of wheat flour, activated gluten and/or egg white, and water under the condition of reduced pressure. However, similarly to the conventional products, the fresh pasta manufactured by this method has a soft texture.
Patent Literature 2 describes fresh pasta manufactured from wheat flour to which ethanol and calcined calcium are added, the fresh pasta having a similar texture to that of dry pasta. However, occasionally, the fresh pasta thus obtained has a peculiar unpleasant flavor derived from ethanol and calcined calcium added.
Patent Literature 3 describes a grain flour composition for noodles, comprising 10 to 40% by weight of durum wheat and 5 to 40% by weight of heat-treated wheat. However, it is required that this grain flour composition contain durum wheat flour. When the content of durum wheat in this composition is reduced, the texture of the fresh pasta manufactured is deteriorated.